Summer Shootout Success for Haier Pulse

Robyn
Broughton went into this weekend’s ‘Summer Shootout’
with a number of key combinations in mind and her team was
richly rewarded as a result. All 10 ANZ Championship teams
attended the three-day tournament, which allowed Broughton
to see all the teams in action.

The Haier Pulse played all
five Australian teams with wins against the Adelaide
Thunderbirds (26-20), the West Coast Fever (29-25) and the
Queensland Firebirds (28-23). The Melbourne Vixens and the
New South Wales Swifts defeated the Haier Pulse (25-16) and
(24-18) respectively. The Swifts finished undefeated
throughout the tournament and the Vixens only lost the one
game to their New South Wales rivals.

The Haier Pulse met
two of the New Zealand teams earlier today, gaining a
hard-fought win against the Northern Mystics (34-32) and a
more comfortable win over the Southern Steel (36-24). This
gave them a final tally of five wins out the seven games
played over the weekend.

The Haier Pulse will open their
2014 ANZ Championship season on 3 March at Te Rauparaha
Arena when they face the Adelaide Thunderbirds in what
promises to be an exciting trans-Tasman clash.

The Melbourne Vixens powered away in
the second half to open their Summer Shootout campaign with
a 25-16 win over the Haier Pulse.Star recruit Catherine
Cox made an impressive debut for the Vixens, combining well
with Tegan Caldwell in the Vixens goal circle while Caitlin
Strachan showed she’ll be a valuable addition to their
midcourt in 2014.

The Vixens rested Karyn Bailey and
Madison Browne for the match while Haier Pulse coach Robyn
Broughton ran most of the key players in her squad
throughout.The Vixens led all game in what was
high-quality match between last year’s Preliminary
Finalists and a side many are tipping to seriously challenge
for a top four spot in 2014.A highlight was a rare
toss-up just before half-time between Haier Pulse star Donna
Wilkins and Vixens wing defence Amy Steel when the umpire
couldn’t decide which of the pair had first possession of
the ball.

Irene van Dyk came on for the second half in the
Haier Pulse goal circle, but she and Wilkins weren’t
allowed easy passes by the Vixens defensive duo of Geva
Mentor and Bianca Chatfield.The Vixens also gave court
time to Liz Watson, who was called into their 2014 squad
during the week to replace Elissa Kent (nee Macleod), and
she settled nicely into centre.

An impressive defensive effort
has seen the Haier Pulse record a 29-25 win over West Coast
Fever.

Haier Pulse goal defence Katrina Grant was the
standout creating havoc for the Fever attackers, spoiling
clean ball into the shooters. With Ama Agbeze tight on
defence keeping Nat Medhurst on the run in the first spell,
Grant was at her best, interrupting the high ball into
Caitlin Bassett.

Four goals down at the break 16-12 Fever
coach Norma Plummer opted to continue using different
combinations, making a raft of changes including Bassett
being taken off and Kate Beveridge introduced into the
match.

At the other end of the court Irene van Dyk and
Donna Wilkins continued to progress as a shooting duo for
the Haier Pulse with Fever’s Ebony Beckford-Chambers
making her presence felt in the circle.

The Haier Pulse
frontline was aided by Elias Shadrock in the centre position
using her considerable experience as a wing defence to
unsettle the Fever mid-court attackers. Both sides have won
one and lost one so far in the competition.

A late second half comeback
wasn’t enough for the Queensland Firebirds to topple one
of the favoured teams in 2014, with the Central Pulse
winning 28-23.

Exciting young Queensland mid-courters Kim
Ravaillion and Verity Simmons were a tour de force in the
first half playing with speed and precision, collecting
their fair share of ball and duly offloading to shooters
Romelda Aiken and Amy Wild.

At the other end, the Donna
Wilkins-Paula Griffin combination took time to settle in,
not an easy task against the likes of Laura Geitz and
Jacinta Messer.After 15 minutes of fast paced action, it
was the Pulse who edged ahead by three 13-10.

Firebirds
coach Rosalee Jencke rested a handful of players including
captain Laura Geitz at half-time as she continues to rotate
her bench players. Opposition coach Robyn Broughton also
introduced fresh players including iconic shooter Irene van
Dyk who, like Paula Griffin in the first half, finished the
match without missing a goal.

The Firebirds staged a late
comeback closing the gap to three, the Haier Pulse holding
their composure to seal the match 28-23.

Not too much can
be read into the results of pre-season matches with most
teams opting not reveal their starting seven until the
league starts in the first weekend of March, but this five
goal win will give confidence to the Haier Pulse who have
never beaten the Firebirds in Australia, the two teams
facing off in Round 13 on the Gold Coast on Saturday May
24.

The NSW Swifts are one of just two
unbeaten teams after day one of the pre-season Summer
Shootout with a fourth comprehensive victory, this time over
the Haier Pulse 24-18 to end their day on a high.

Former
Haier Pulse shooter and new Swifts recruit Caitlin Thwaites,
paired with Susan Pratley, were a formidable duo under the
goal, opening up space and guiding the ball into the goal
with accuracy.

Australian 21/U shooter Gretel Tippet
played the match out on the wing providing the Swifts some
height in the mid-court while in the defensive end, Sharni
Layton proved to be a thorn in the side of Donna Wilkins,
applying relentless pressure throughout the match.

The
Swifts held a narrow two-goal advantage, 11-9 at the break
and extended the margin to 6 by the final whistle. It’s a
dream start to the pre-season Summer Shootout for new Swifts
coach Rob Wright and the team will now turn their focus to
Sunday and their two matches against the Ascot Park Hotel
Southern Steel and the Melbourne Vixens.

The Pulse end day
one with mixed results recording wins over the West Coast
Fever and the Queensland Firebirds while falling to the
Melbourne Vixens and the Swifts.

In a match
which could have mirrored the likes of a Silver Ferns trial,
spectators were treated to a highly skilled match between
the Northern Mystics and Haier Pulse in the opening match of
day two.

With 12 current or former international players
from three countries on the court it was the Haier Pulse
claimed bragging rights for the next month winning 34-32,
with the teams meeting again in Round three of the ANZ
Championship in March.

The Mystics shot out to an early
lead, applying full-court pressure to disrupt the Haier
Pulse’s timing in the initial stages of the match. Mystics
shooters were on target all match with Maria Tutaia shooting
15/16 and Cathrine Latu 17/18.

After 15 minutes the Haier
Pulse had caught up to level the match 18-18 at halftime
thanks to some equally impressive shooting at the opposite
end by Irene van Dyk 23/25 and Donna Wilkins 11/13.

The
Haier Pulse started the second half with three straight
goals and the Mystics found themselves playing catch-up for
the first time in the match. Katrina Grant switched to goal
keep and spent the second half marking Cathrine Latu. The
experienced defensive combination of Grant with Te Huinga
Reo Selby-Rickit worked for the Haier Pulse, holding their
second half lead with an overall team effort anchored by
Millie Lees in the midcourt.

A second half blitz of eight
unanswered goals by the Haier Pulse put the match out of
reach, with the girls in yellow extending their 15-13
halftime lead to 23-13 in the space of a few
minutes.

Go-to goal shooter for the Steel Jhaniele
Fowler-Reid sat out the match with Jodi Brown and Te Paea
Selby-Rickit starting for the southern team while at the
other end shooters Irene van Dyk paired with Gemma Hazeldine
for a new look Haier Pulse attacking circle which despite
the lack of time spent together, worked remarkably well.
Hazeldine’s experience in the goal attack position gifted
van Dyk the space to work her way to the goal.

Momentum
continued to swing the way of the Haier Pulse throughout
second spell with Brown coming off midway through, replaced
by Olivia Bates. The strong Haier Pulse midcourt continues
to gel with Millie Lees, Elias Shadrock and Joline Henry
strong on both attack and defence and today they were too
slick for a Steel side playing catch-up.

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